Solid state drive device and computer server system including the same

ABSTRACT

A solid-state drive device includes a first module including a first region containing a volatile main memory device and a controller device and a second region containing a first nonvolatile memory device, a second module disposed on the first module and having a third region containing a second nonvolatile memory device, the second module being connected to the first module, and a heat dissipating member disposed on the second module as vertically juxtaposed with the first and second modules. The heat dissipating member has a protruding portion protruding toward the first module and in direct thermal contact with the first region, and a plate-shaped portion having a main surface in direct thermal contact with the third region.

PRIORITY STATEMENT

This is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/740,593, filedJan. 13, 2020, which is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/362,732, filed Mar. 25, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,582,644, issuedMar. 3, 2020, which claims benefit of priority to Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2018-0134682 filed on Nov. 5, 2018 in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The present inventive concept relates to a solid-state drive device anda computer server system including the same.

2. Description of Related Art

As a next generation storage device to replace a hard disk drive of therelated art, a solid-state drive device has attracted attention.Solid-state drive devices are nonvolatile memory-based storage deviceswith low power consumption and high storage density. In addition,solid-state drive devices can input and output a large amount of data athigh speeds. Therefore, demand for solid state drive devices is expectedto increase.

Furthermore, the data storage capacity of solid-state drive devices mustbe large to support a high-performance computer server system. To thisend, i.e., to increase the capacity of solid-state drive devices, thenumber of modules of solid-state drive devices is increasing. Thus, theamount of heat generated by solid-state drive devices is increasing.However, due to a limited form factor, there is a limitation inimproving heat dissipation efficiency.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present inventive concept, a solid-statedrive device includes a first module including a volatile main memorydevice, a controller and a first nonvolatile memory device, a secondmodule disposed on and connected to the first module, and a heatdissipating member disposed on the second module such that the secondmodule is interposed between the heat dissipating member and the firstmodule. The first module has a first region containing the volatile mainmemory device and the controller and a second region containing thefirst nonvolatile memory device. The second module overlaps the secondregion of the first module as viewed in a plan view of the solid-statedrive device, the second module includes a second nonvolatile memorydevice and the second module has a third region containing the secondnonvolatile memory device. The heat dissipating member has aplate-shaped portion and a protruding portion. The protruding portionprotrudes toward the first module relative to the plate-shaped portionand is in direct thermal contact with the first region of the firstmodule, and the plate-shaped portion is vertically juxtaposed withrespective portions of the first and second modules and is in directthermal contact with the third region of the second module.

According to another aspect of the present inventive concept, asolid-state drive device includes a heat dissipating member having alower surface and a protrusion protruding from a main part of the lowersurface, whereby a distal end of the protrusion and the main part of thelower surface are disposed at a different levels in the solid-statedrive device, a first module having a plurality of first semiconductorchips with at least a portion of the plurality of first semiconductorchips being in direct thermal contact with the distal end of theprotrusion of the heat dissipating member, and a second module spacedapart from and interposed between the heat dissipating member and thefirst module. The second module has a plurality of second semiconductorchips, and at least a portion of the plurality of second semiconductorchips is in direct thermal contact with the main part of the lowersurface of the heat dissipating member.

According to still another aspect of the present inventive concept, asolid-state drive device includes a first module, a second modulestacked vertically on and physically joined and electrically connectedto the first module, and a heat sink disposed on the second module andphysically connected to the first and second modules with the secondmodule interposed between the heat sink and the first module. The firstmodule has a first region and a second region located laterally of thefirst region in the first module, and the first module comprises a firstcircuit board of the solid-state drive device, at least onesemiconductor device mounted to the first circuit board in the firstregion, and at least one semiconductor device mounted to the firstcircuit board in the second region. The second module overlaps thesecond region as viewed in a plan view of the solid-state drive device,and the second module comprises a second circuit board of thesolid-state drive device and at least one semiconductor device mountedto the second circuit board in a third region. The heat sink has aplate-shaped portion and a protruding portion. The protruding portionprotrudes toward the first module relative to the plate-shaped portion,overlaps the at least one semiconductor device mounted to the firstcircuit board in the first region as viewed in a plan view of thesolid-state drive device, and has a distal end at which the heat sink isin direct thermal contact with the first region of the first module. Theplate-shaped portion is vertically juxtaposed with respective portionsof the first and second modules, overlaps the at least one semiconductordevice mounted to the second circuit board in the third region, and hasa main surface at which the heat sink is in direct thermal contact withthe third region, and the distal end of the protrusion and the mainsurface of the plate-shaped portion of the heat sink are disposed atdifferent levels in the solid-state drive device.

According to still another aspect of the present inventive concept, acomputer server system includes an enclosure having opposite ends andprovided with an add-in card (AIC) form factor bay at one of theopposite ends, a cooling fan disposed at the other of the opposite endsof the enclosure and oriented to blow air in a first direction from saidother of the opposite ends of the closure to said one of the oppositeends of the enclosure, an AIC form factor card adapter disposed in theAIC form factor bay, and a solid-state drive device mounted on the AICform factor card adapter. The solid-state drive device includes a firstmodule, a second module and a heat dissipating member juxtaposed withand physically connected to each other. The first module includes avolatile main memory device, a controller and a first nonvolatile memorydevice, and the first module having a first region containing thevolatile main memory device and the controller and a second regioncontaining the first nonvolatile memory device. The second module isinterposed between the heat dissipating member and the first module, thesecond module overlapping the second region of the first module whenviewed in a direction in which the first module, the second module andthe heat dissipating member are juxtaposed, and the second moduleincluding a second nonvolatile memory device and having a third regioncontaining the second nonvolatile memory device. The heat dissipatingmember has a plate-shaped portion and a protruding portion, theprotruding portion protruding toward the first module relative to theplate-shaped portion and in direct thermal contact with the first regionof the first module, and the plate-shaped portion juxtaposed withrespective portions of the first and second modules and in directthermal contact with the third region of the second module.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the inventiveconcept will be more clearly understood from the following detaileddescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an example of a solid-state drive deviceaccording to the present inventive concept;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the solid-state drive deviceof FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3A is a plan view of a heat dissipating member of the solid-statedrive device of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3B is a plan view of a second module of the solid-state drivedevice of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3C is a plan view of a first module of the solid-state drive deviceof FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a view of the heat dissipating member of the solid-state drivedevice of FIG. 1 , when viewed in direction IV FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of the heat dissipating member takenalong line V-V′ in FIG. 2 ;

FIGS. 5B, 5C and 5D are cross-sectional views of other examples of theheat dissipating member of a solid-state drive device according to theinventive concept;

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I′ of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II′ of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 6C is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III′ of FIG. 1 ;

FIGS. 7A to 8C illustrate another example of a solid state drive deviceaccording to the present inventive concept, wherein:

FIG. 7A is a plan view of a heat dissipating member the solid-statedrive device,

FIG. 7B is a plan view of a second module of the solid-state drivedevice,

FIG. 7C is a plan view of a first module of the solid-state drivedevice,

FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view of the solid-state drive device takenin the same direction as line I-I′ of FIG. 1 ,

FIG. 8B is a cross-sectional view of the solid-state drive device takenin the same direction as line II-II′ of FIG. 1 , and

FIG. 8C is a cross-sectional view of the solid-state drive device takenin the same direction as line III-III′ of FIG. 1 ;

FIGS. 9A to 10C illustrate another example of a solid state drive deviceaccording to the present inventive concept, wherein:

FIG. 9A is a plan view of a heat dissipating member the solid-statedrive device,

FIG. 9B is a plan view of a second module of the solid-state drivedevice,

FIG. 9C is a plan view of a first module of the solid-state drivedevice,

FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view of the solid-state drive device takenin the same direction as line I-I′ of FIG. 1 ,

FIG. 10B is a cross-sectional view of the solid-state drive device takenin the same direction as line II-II′ of FIG. 1 , and

FIG. 10C is a cross-sectional view of the solid-state drive device takenin the same direction as line III-III′ of FIG. 1 ; and

FIG. 11 is a broken away view of a computer server system employing asolid-state drive device according to the present inventive concept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, examples of the present inventive concept will be describedin detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note, in thedescription that follows ordinal numbers are used solely todifferentiate like elements or features from one another and is thus notlimiting, e.g., should not be considered as implying that a componenthas a number of elements or features corresponding to the ordinalnumber.

A first example of a solid-state drive device according to the presentinventive concept is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3C.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , the solid-state drive device 10 may includea first module 100, a second module 200 disposed on the first module100, and a heat sink 300 (referred to hereinafter as a heat dissipatingmember), vertically juxtaposed with the first module 100 and the secondmodule 200. According to an example, a cover 400 is disposed on onesurface of the first module 100.

The first module 100 and the second module 200 may be fixed to the heatdissipating member 300 through a coupling member B such as a bolt, andwashers W may be disposed between the first module 100, the secondmodule 200 and the heat dissipating member 300, to space such membersapart from one another.

According to an example, a thermal interface material (TIM1-5), to bedescribed later, is disposed on portions of contact between the firstmodule 100, the second module 200, the heat dissipating member 300 andthe cover 400.

The solid-state drive device 10 may be configured to satisfy a formfactor standard such as a 2.5-inch hard disk (HDD), a 1.8-inch HDD, a3.5-inch HDD, an M.2 as a next generation form factor (NGFF), miniserial advanced technology attachment (mSATA), or an add-in card (AIC).An example in which the AIC form factor is satisfied will be described.

Referring to FIG. 3C, the first module 100 may include a first circuitboard 110, a plurality of semiconductor chips mounted on the firstcircuit board 110, and a connector 150.

The first circuit board 110 may be a single layer or multilayer circuitboard. For example, the first circuit board 110 is a printed circuitboard (PCB). The printed circuit board may include circuit traces formedon the surface or inside thereof, and vias for a connectiontherebetween. The circuit traces may be a printed circuit pattern for aninterconnection of the plurality of semiconductor chips to each other.The first circuit board 110 may be elongated in one direction. The firstcircuit board 110 may be provided with a terminal 140, disposed on oneside thereof and provided for connection to an external device, and theconnector 150 may be provided on the other side of the first circuitboard 110. The connector 150 may include connection terminals for aconnection to the second module 200. The plurality of semiconductorchips may include a main memory device 121, a controller device 122, anda nonvolatile memory device 131.

The first module 100 may have a first region 120 and a second region130. The first region 120 may be in direct thermal contact with the heatdissipating member 300, to dissipate heat by heat conduction, and themain memory device 121 and the controller device 122 may be containedin, i.e., may comprise, the first region 120. The first circuit board110 may have a region that does not overlap a second circuit board 210,as viewed in plan.

The second region 130 may be spaced from, i.e., may be disposed out ofcontact with the heat dissipating member 300, such that heat from thesecond region 130 is dissipated by radiation or convection. Thenonvolatile memory device 131 may be mounted to the first circuit board110 in the second region 130. On the other hand, as will be describedlater, according to an example, a portion of the second region 130 is indirect thermal contact with the heat dissipating member 300 so that heatdissipates from that portion of the second region by conduction.

Although the first region 120 may be in thermal contact with the heatdissipating member 300 by contacting the heat dissipating member, thefirst region 120 may also be in thermal contact with the heatdissipating member 300 through a thermal interface material to improveheat conduction efficiency. In other words, direct thermal contact oftwo elements/regions according to this detailed description may onlyoccur if the elements/regions are in contact with each other or ifthermal interface material (TIM) is interposed between theelements/regions as disposed in contact with each of theelements/regions. As is understood in the art, thermal interfacematerial per se is a material promoting heat transfer. Examples ofthermal interface material that may be used in a solid state driveaccording to the present inventive concept include grease, thermallyconductive adhesive, mineral oil, gap filler putty, a gel or pad formedof a phase change material, or a particle filled epoxy. Examples ofcommercially available greases include ShinEtsu G750, ShinEtsu G751,ShinEtsu G765, and Berquist TIC-7500. Examples of the phase changematerial include Thermax HF60110-BT, Chromerics T725, Chromerics T443,Chromerics T454, Thermagon T-pcm 905c, Berquist 200 U, Berquist HiFlow225-U, or Berquist HiFlow 225-UT may be used. As the thermallyconductive adhesive, Chromerics therm-A-form T642 or the like may beused. However, the materials of the thermal interface material are notlimited to these examples.

In an example, the main memory device 121 and the heat dissipatingmember 300 are in direct thermal contact with each other through thethermal interface material TIM1, and the controller device 122 and theheat dissipating member 300 are in direct thermal contact with eachother through the thermal interface material TIM3.

The main memory device 121 may be disposed adjacent to the controllerdevice 122 on the first region 120 of the first circuit board 110. Themain memory device 121 may be, for example, a volatile memorysemiconductor device such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Themain memory device 121 may be used as a buffer temporarily storing datareceived from the controller device 122 or temporarily storing data readfrom the nonvolatile memory device 131. In addition, the main memorydevice 121 may be used to drive software (S/W) used for efficientmanagement of the nonvolatile memory device 131.

In an example, seven main memory devices 121 are disposed on an uppersurface of the first circuit board 110, and seven (the same number of)main memory devices 121 are disposed on a lower surface of the firstcircuit board 110.

The controller device 122 may provide an interface and a protocolbetween the nonvolatile memory device 131 and a host, for example, acomputer server employing a solid-state drive device. The controllerdevice 122 may provide an interface between the nonvolatile memorydevice 131 and the host, by a peripheral component interconnect express(PCIe), a remote direct memory access (RDMA) via Ethernet, a SerialAdvanced Technology Attachment (SATA), Fibre Channel, Serial AttachedSCSI (SAS), or Nonvolatile Memory Express (NVMe), or by a standardprotocol such as Ethernet or Universal Serial Bus (USB). The controllerdevice 122 may also perform wear leveling, garbage collection, bad blockmanagement and error correcting code (ECC) for the nonvolatile memorydevice 131.

The first module 100 may be detachably attached to the second module 200through the connector 150. The connector 150 may be inserted into asocket 250 provided in the second module 200. In this example, multipleones of the connectors 150 and sockets 250 are provided, e.g., a firstconnector 151 and a second connector 152, and a first socket 251 and asecond socket 252 corresponding thereto. Thus, the first module 100 andthe second module 200 may be electrically connected to each other.

At least one nonvolatile memory device 131 may be provided on the secondregion 130 of the first circuit board 110, i.e., one or a plurality ofnonvolatile memory devices 131 may be provided. In addition, accordingto an example, the first circuit board 110 has a plurality of secondregions 130. For example, an upper surface of the first circuit board110 includes a plurality of the second regions 130 with one or morenonvolatile memory devices 131 provided on each region. According toanother example, nonvolatile memory devices 131 may be respectivelydisposed (individually or in groups) on an upper surface and a lowersurface of the first circuit board 110.

In an example, ten nonvolatile memory devices 131 are disposed on theupper surface of the first circuit board 110, and ten (the same numberof) nonvolatile memory devices 131 are disposed on a lower surface ofthe first circuit board 110.

The nonvolatile memory device 131 may be a storage medium of thesolid-state drive device 10. The nonvolatile memory device 131 may be,for example, a NAND flash memory, a resistive random access memory(RRAM), a magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), a phase-change RAM (PRAM), or aferroelectric RAM (FRAM). The nonvolatile memory device 131 may beconnected to the controller device 122 via at least one channel. Thenonvolatile memory device 131 may include a single nonvolatile memorychip or a plurality of stacked nonvolatile memory chips.

As mentioned above, the thermal interface material (TIM) may be disposedon the nonvolatile memory device 131. For example, when the nonvolatilememory device 131 is disposed on the lower surface of the first circuitboard 110 and the cover 400 is coupled to the lower surface, thenonvolatile memory device 131 may be in direct thermal contact with thecover 400 through thermal interface material TIM5.

Furthermore, passive devices or active devices such as a chip resistor,a chip capacitor, an inductor, a switch, a temperature sensor, a DC-DCconverter, a voltage regulator, a quartz crystal for generating a clocksignal, or the like may be mounted on the first circuit board 110.

The terminal 140 may be provided on a side edge of the first circuitboard 110. The terminal 140 may connect the solid-state drive device 10to the host to transmit and receive signals and/or receive power. Theterminal 140 may have plurality of wiring lines. The terminal 140 may bebased on a protocol such as, for example, Peripheral ComponentInterconnect Express (PCIe), remote direct memory access (RDMA) overEthernet, Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), Fibre Channel,Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), or NonVolatile Memory Express (NVMe), or mayprovide a standard interface such as Ethernet or Universal Serial Bus(USB).

According to an example, the cover 400 covers one surface of the firstmodule 100. The cover 400 may cover the first module 100 to protect thefirst module 100 from an external impact. In addition, the cover 400 isformed of a material having relatively high thermal conductivity, suchthat the heat transferred from the first module 100 by radiation orconvection may be effectively discharged from a surface of the cover 400into the air. In addition, the cover 400 may be in direct thermalcontact with the first module 100 through the thermal interface materialTIM2 and/or TIM5.

One side of the cover 400 may be provided with a guide 500 for fixingthe solid-state drive device 10 to an enclosure of a computer serversystem to be described later, and the guide 500 may be coupled to theenclosure by a coupling member such as a bolt.

Referring to FIG. 3B, the second module 200 may include the secondcircuit board 210, a plurality of semiconductor chips mounted on thesecond circuit board 210, and a socket 250. The second module 200 is amodule added to the first module 100, as disposed thereon, to increasethe capacity of the solid-state drive device 10. To this end, anonvolatile memory device(s) 221 may be mounted to the circuit board210, but the inventive concept is not limited to the second module 200having a nonvolatile memory device(s) as a data storage medium.Furthermore, in the case in which the second module 200 includes anonvolatile memory device another semiconductor chip(s) may also bemounted to the circuit board 210.

In any case, the second module 200 is spaced apart from the first module100 by a predetermined distance, and may overlie the first module 100,i.e., may be vertically juxtaposed with the first module 100. The secondmodule 200 may be disposed between the heat dissipating member 300 andthe first module 100. The second module 200 may be connected to thefirst module 100 through the socket 250. The second module 200 may havean area less than that of the first module 100.

The second circuit board 120 may be a single layer or multilayer circuitboard in the same manner as the first circuit board 110 of the firstmodule 100. For example, the second circuit board 210 may be a printedcircuit board (PCB). A region RA of the solid-state device 10 in thesame plane as the second circuit board 210 includes an opening throughthe second circuit board 210 over the first region 120 of the firstmodule 100. A protruding portion 320 of the heat dissipating member 300extends through the opening of region RA and is in direct thermalcontact with the first region 120 of the first circuit board 110.

A third region 220 in which a nonvolatile memory device 221 is mountedto the second circuit board 210 does not overlap the first region 120 ofthe first circuit board 110, as viewed in plan. According to anotherexample, a nonvolatile memory device 221 is mounted on a lower surfaceof the second circuit board 210.

Referring to FIGS. 3A and 4 , the heat dissipating member 300 mayoverlie the first module 100 and the second module 200, and may coverthe second module 200. The heat dissipating member 300 may store heatemitted from the first module 100 and the second module 200, and maytransmit the heat to the air to lower temperatures of the first module100 and the second module 200. The heat dissipating member 300 may beformed of a single material, or may be a combination of members formedof different materials in consideration of heat storage and transfercharacteristics. The heat dissipating member 300 may be formed of ametal, a carbon-based material, a polymer material, or a combinationthereof, but the material of the heat dissipating member 300 is notlimited to these examples of materials. Preferably, though, the heatdissipating member 300 is formed of a metal having a relatively highthermal conductivity, such as copper, an aluminum alloy, a stainlesssteel alloy, or a magnesium alloy.

The heat dissipating member 300 may include a substrate 310 having anupper surface 310A and a lower surface 310B. Referring to FIG. 3A, theupper surface 310A of the heat dissipating member 300 may be providedwith grooves 330 therein extending in a longitudinal direction D of theheat dissipating member 300, to improve heat dissipation efficiency.Referring to FIG. 4 , the protruding portion 320 of the heat dissipatingmember 300 protrudes from a (main) part 323 of the lower surface 310B ofthe substrate 310. The main part 323 of the lower surface 310B, i.e.,the part of the lower surface excluding the protruding portion 320, maybe a flat surface. A distal part of the protruding portion 320 isdisposed on a level different from that of the main part 323 of thelower surface 310B. The distal part may be constituted by a surface 321(referred to hereinafter as the “protruding surface”) and the protrudingsurface 321 may be a flat surface parallel to the main part 323 of thelower surface 310B. The distal part, e.g., the protruding surface 321,may be in direct thermal contact with the first module 100, and the mainpart 323 of the lower surface 310B may be in direct thermal contact withthe second module 200. For example, the protruding surface 321 may bedisposed in contact with the first region 120 of the first module 100,and the main surface 323 may be disposed in contact with the thirdregion 220 of the second module 200. The lower surface 321 of theprotruding portion 320 and the main part 323 of the lower surface 310Bof the heat dissipating member 300 may be spaced vertically relative toeach other and/or are disposed in direct thermal contact with regions ofthe first and second modules 100 and 200 in consideration of producing adesired rate of heat transfer from the first module 100 and the secondmodule 200.

Referring to FIG. 4 , one or more air holes 322 may be formed in bothsides of the protruding portion 320 and may provide air passagewaysextending laterally through the protruding portion 320 in thelongitudinal direction D of the heat dissipating member 300. The airholes 322, i.e., the air passageways, may be formed to have variouscross-sectional shapes. For example, the air holes 322 may havecircular, elliptical, or polygonal various cross sections. Asillustrated in FIG. 5A, as an example the cross section of the air hole322 is quadrangular. In an example as illustrated in FIG. 5B, the airholes 322 a of protruding portion 320A are channels running through theprotruding portion 320A and open at the bottom of the protrudingportion. Hence, the cross section of an air hole 322A may also bequadrangular. Grooves 330, 330A may be formed in an upper surface of theheat dissipating member 300, 300A, including in the upper surfaced ofthe protruding portion 320, 320A, to improve heat dissipation efficiency

In an example as illustrated in FIG. 5C, the air holes 322B ofprotruding portion 320B are also channels, but in this example each airhole 322B (channel) of protruding portion 320B is open at the top of theprotruding portion 320B.

FIG. 5D illustrates an example of a heat dissipating member 300C havinga solid protruding portion 320C. More specifically, the protrudingportion 320C is solid at least below the level of the main part 323 ofthe bottom surface 310B of the heat dissipating member. However, grooves330C may be formed in an upper surface of the heat dissipating member300C, including in the upper surfaced of the protruding portion 320C, toimprove heat dissipation efficiency.

In an example such as that of FIG. 5A described above, the surface areaof the heat dissipating member 300 is in effect increased by theprovision air hole(s) 322 to improve heat dissipation efficiency, andthe heat dissipation efficiency of the heat dissipating member 300 isenhanced by the flow of air flowing through the air hole 322. The airhole 322 may be disposed to face a side of the second module 200 suchthat the flow of cool air passing through the air hole 322 from theoutside may be naturally directed toward the second module 200. Thus,the heat dissipation efficiency of the nonvolatile memory device 221mounted on the second module 200 may be improved. As will be describedlater in more detail, in the case in which the solid-state drive device10 is mounted in a computer server system, when the longitudinaldirection D of the heat dissipating member 300 is aligned with a blowingdirection of a cooling fan, cooling efficiency may be further improved.

The releasing of heat of the first module 100 and the second module 200will be described below with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C.

Referring to FIG. 6A, by virtue of the thermal interface material TIM1the heat dissipating member 300 is in direct thermal contact with a mainmemory device 121A disposed on an upper surface of the first module 100.Referring to FIG. 6B, by virtue of the thermal interface material TIM3the heat dissipating member 300 is in direct thermal contact with thecontroller device 122 disposed on the upper surface of the first module100. Thus, heat emitted from the main memory device 121A and thecontroller device 122, disposed on the upper surface of the module 100,may be quickly dissipated through the heat dissipating member 300.

Referring also to FIG. 6A, a main memory device 121B disposed on a lowersurface of the first module 100 is in direct thermal contact with thecover 400 by virtue of the thermal interface material TIM2 to emit heat.

Referring to FIG. 6C, by virtue of the thermal interface material TIM4the heat dissipating member 300 is in direct thermal contact with anonvolatile memory device 221A disposed on an upper surface of thesecond module 200. Thus, heat emitted from the nonvolatile memory device221A of the second module 200 may be quickly dissipated. The nonvolatilememory device 221B disposed on the lower surface of the second module200 and the nonvolatile memory module 131A disposed on the upper surfaceof the first module 100 are not in contact with the heat dissipatingmember 300, but in this example are disposed in front of the holes 322to be cooled by air flowing through the air holes 322. The nonvolatilememory device 131B disposed on the lower surface of the first module 100may be in direct thermal contact with the cover 400 through the thermalinterface material TIM5 to emit heat.

Thus, in the case of this example of the solid-state drive device 10according to the present inventive concept, the heat dissipating member300, the first module 100 and the second module 200 are in directthermal contact with one another. The nonvolatile memory device 221Bdisposed on the lower surface of the second module 200 and thenonvolatile memory device 131A disposed on the upper surface of thefirst module 100 may be cooled by air flowing through the air holes 322in the protruding portion 320. Thus, heat dissipation efficiency of thesolid-state drive device 10 is great.

Another example of a solid-state drive device according to the presentinventive concept is shown in FIGS. 7A to 8C. Features and aspect ofthis example which are similar to those in the example described above,as will be clear from their depiction in the figures, may not bedescribed again in detail or may only be described briefly for the sakeof brevity.

Referring to FIGS. 7A to 7C, a solid-state drive device includes a firstmodule 1100, a second module 1200, and a heat dissipating member 1300.Referring to FIGS. 8A to 8C a cover 1400 may be disposed on one surfaceof the first module 1100. A main memory device 1121 may be disposedadjacent to a controller device 1122 on a first circuit board 1110 in afirst region 1120 of the first module 1100.

The heat dissipating member 1300 has a protruding portion 1320. Theprotruding portion 1320 has a first protruding section 1320A verticallyjuxtaposed with the first region 1120 of the first module 1100, and asecond protruding section 1320B vertically juxtaposed with a portion ofa second region 1130 of the first module 1100.

The second module 1200 has an open region RA1 or “opening” in the planeof the second circuit board 1210, with one part RA1A of the openingoverlying the second region 1130 and a second part RA1A of the openingoverlying the first region 1120. A third region 1220 in which anonvolatile memory device 1221 of the second module 1200 is mounted tosecond circuit board 1210 may be divided into two parts 1220A and 1220B.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate that this example of a solid-state drivedevice has respective cross sections that are similar to those of thesolid-state drive device in the foregoing example. On the other hand,referring to FIG. 8C, the second protruding section 1320B of the heatdissipating member 1300 is in direct thermal contact with a nonvolatilememory device 1131A mounted on an upper surface of the first module1100. A nonvolatile memory device 1131B of a nonvolatile memory device1131, mounted on a lower surface of the first circuit board 1110, may bein direct thermal contact with a cover 1400.

Another example of a solid-state drive device according to the inventiveconcept is shown in FIGS. 9A to 10C. Features and aspect of this examplewhich are similar to those in the example described above, as will beclear from their depiction in the figures, may not be described again indetail or may only be described briefly for the sake of brevity.

Referring to FIGS. 9A to 9C, this example of a solid-state drive deviceincludes a first module 2100, a second module 2200, and a heatdissipating member 2300. Referring to FIGS. 8A to 8C a cover 2400 may bedisposed on one surface of the first module 2100. A main memory device2121 may be disposed adjacent to a controller device 2122 in a firstregion 2120 of the first module 2100.

The heat dissipating member 2300 includes a protruding portion 2320having a first protruding section 2320A vertically juxtaposed with afirst region 2120 of the first module 2100 and a second protrudingsection 2320B vertically juxtaposed with a portion of a second region2130 of the first module 2100.

The second module 2200 may have an open region RA2 or “opening” in theplane of the second circuit board 2210, and the open region RA2 includesan opening RA2B juxtaposed with the second region 2130 as well as anopening RA2A juxtaposed with the first region 2120. The second circuitboard 2210 may have a rectangular shape, i.e., may be elongated in onedirection. A third region 2220 in which a nonvolatile memory device 2221of the second module 2200 is mounted on the second circuit board 2210may be elongated in a longitudinal direction of the second circuit board2210. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 10C, the nonvolatile memory device2221 of the second module 2200 may be in direct thermal contact withheat dissipating member 2310. A nonvolatile memory device 2221B mountedon a lower surface of the second circuit board 2210 may be cooled byair, while a nonvolatile memory device mounted on an upper surface ofthe second circuit board 2210 may be in direct thermal contact with theheat dissipating member 2300 to be cooled thereby. A nonvolatile memorydevice 2131A mounted on an upper surface of the first circuit board 2120may be in direct thermal contact with the second part 2320B of theprotruding portion 2320 of the heat dissipating member 2300. Anonvolatile memory device 2131B mounted on the lower surface of thefirst circuit board 2120 may be in direct thermal contact with the cover2400.

In this example a large area of direct thermal contact exists betweenthe first module 2100 and the heat dissipating member 2320. Therefore,the solid-state drive device of this example has high heat dissipationefficiency.

A computer server system employing a solid-state drive device, inaccordance with the present inventive concept, will now be described indetail with reference to FIG. 11 . For this purpose, the solid-statedrive device 10 shown in and described with reference to FIGS. 1-5A willbe used as an example but a similar computer server system may employany solid-state drive according to the present inventive concept.

The computer server system 1 may include an enclosure 40, a cooling fan30, a form factor card adapter and the solid-state drive device 10. Abay satisfying the above-mentioned form factor may be disposed at oneend of an interior space of the enclosure 40. In an example, the bay maysatisfy an add-in card (AIC) form factor, and the solid-state drivedevice 10 or a plurality of the solid-state devices 10 may be mounted inthe AIC form factor bay. A main board 20 may be disposed in theenclosure 40. A central processing unit (CPU) 21 and several form factorcard adapters may be disposed on the main board 20, and the solid-statedrive device(s) 10 may be mounted on the form factor card adapters,respectively. The cooling fan 30 is disposed at the other end of theenclosure 40 such that air blown from the cooling fan 30 may force toflow in an air blowing direction WD from an end of the enclosure 40 tothe end thereof provided with the bay containing the solid-state drivedevice(s) 10. The air blown by the cooling fan 30 may pass through theCPU 21 in the air blowing direction WD, to cool the solid-state drivedevice(s) 10. The longitudinal direction D of the heat dissipatingmember 300 of each solid-state drive device 10 coincides with the airblowing direction WD, such that air may flow easily in the longitudinaldirection D through the air passageways 322 in the protruding portion320 of the heat dissipating member 300 (see FIG. 4 ). Thus, the coolingefficiency of the solid-state drive device 10 may be enhanced.

As described in detail above, in a solid-state drive device and acomputer server system including a solid-state drive device according tothe present inventive concept, a plurality of modules of the solid-statedrive device are each in direct thermal contact with a heat dissipatingmember. Accordingly, the heat dissipation efficiency of a solid-statedrive device and a computer server according to the present inventiveconcept is relatively great.

Although examples of the present inventive concept have been shown anddescribed above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatsuch examples may be modified or varied without departing from the truespirit and scope of the present inventive concept as defined by theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A solid-state drive device comprising: a firstmodule including at least one volatile main memory device, a controllerand at least one first nonvolatile memory device, the first modulehaving a first region containing the at least one volatile main memorydevice and the controller and a second region containing the at leastone first nonvolatile memory device; a second module disposed on thefirst module, the second module overlapping the second region of thefirst module as viewed in a plan view of the solid-state drive device,the second module including at least one second nonvolatile memorydevice and having a third region containing the at least one secondnonvolatile memory device; and a heat dissipating member disposed on thesecond module such that the second module is interposed between the heatdissipating member and the first module, having a first surface disposedtoward the first module and a second surface opposite the first surface,and elongated in one direction, wherein the heat dissipating member hasa plate-shaped portion and a protruding portion disposed at the firstsurface, the protruding portion protrudes toward the first modulerelative to the plate-shaped portion and is in direct thermal contactwith the first region of the first module, the protruding portion has atleast one first air passageway extending therethrough in the onedirection above the at least one volatile main memory device and atleast one second air passageway extending therethrough in the onedirection above the controller, and the plate-shaped portion is indirect thermal contact with the third region of the second module. 2.The solid-state drive device of claim 1, wherein each of the at leastone second air passageway extends from each of the at least one firstair passageway.
 3. The solid-state drive device of claim 1, wherein anumber of the at least one first air passageway is the same with anumber of at least one second air passageway.
 4. The solid-state drivedevice of claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional are the at least one firstair passageway is substantially the same with a cross-sectional area ofthe at least one second air passageway.
 5. The solid-state drive deviceof claim 1, wherein the at least one first air passageway and the atleast one second air passageway are hollow tubes.
 6. The solid-statedrive device of claim 1, wherein the at least one first air passagewayand the at least one second air passageway are grooves concavely formedin the first surface of the heat dissipation member.
 7. The solid-statedrive device of claim 1, wherein the at least one first air passagewayand the at least one second air passageway are grooves concavely formedin the second surface of the heat dissipation member.
 8. The solid-statedrive device of claim 7, wherein the heat dissipating member furtherincludes at least one groove disposed the plate-shaped portion andarranged in the one direction.
 9. A solid-state drive device comprising:a first module including at least one volatile main memory device, acontroller and at least one first nonvolatile memory device, the firstmodule having a first region containing the at least one volatile mainmemory device and the controller and a second region containing the atleast one first nonvolatile memory device; a second module disposed onthe first module, the second module overlapping the second region of thefirst module as viewed in a plan view of the solid-state drive device,the second module including at least one second nonvolatile memorydevice, having a third region containing the at least one secondnonvolatile memory device, and having a open region; and a heatdissipating member disposed on the second module such that the secondmodule is interposed between the heat dissipating member and the firstmodule, having a first surface disposed toward the first module and asecond surface opposite the first surface, and elongated in onedirection, wherein the heat dissipating member has a first protrudingportion and a second protruding portion disposed at the first surfacepenetrating the open region of the second module, the first protrudingportion protrudes toward the first module and the second protrudingportion protrudes toward the second module, and the first protrudingportion is in direct thermal contact with the first region of the firstmodule and the second protruding portion is in direct thermal contactwith the third region of the second module, the first protruding portionhas at least one first air passageway extending therethrough in the onedirection above the at least one volatile main memory device and atleast one second air passageway extending therethrough in the onedirection above the controller, and the second protruding portion has atleast one third air passageway extending therethrough in the onedirection above the at least one second nonvolatile memory device. 10.The solid-state drive device of claim 9, wherein each of the at leastone second air passageway extends from each of the at least one firstair passageway, and each of the at least one third air passagewayextends from each of the at least one first air passageway or each ofthe at least one second air passageway.
 11. The solid-state drive deviceof claim 9, wherein a number of the at least one first air passageway isthe same with a number of at least one second air passageway, and anumber of the at least one third air passageway is less than or equal tothe number of at least one second air passageway.
 12. The solid-statedrive device of claim 9, wherein the open region has a first partoverlying the second region and a second part overlying the firstregion.
 13. The solid-state drive device of claim 12, wherein the thirdregion is divided into two parts by the second part.
 14. The solid-statedrive device of claim 12, wherein a width of the second protrudingportion is smaller than a width of the first protruding portion.
 15. Thesolid-state drive device of claim 12, wherein a width of the secondprotruding portion is substantially the same with a width of the firstprotruding portion.
 16. The solid-state drive device of claim 9, whereinthe second module has a rectangular shape.
 17. The solid-state drivedevice of claim 16, wherein the third region is disposed parallel to thefirst protruding portion and the second protruding portion.
 18. Thesolid-state drive device of claim 9, wherein the first region and thesecond region are arranged in the one direction.
 19. The solid-statedrive device of claim 9, wherein the second protruding portion extendsfrom the first protruding portion in the one direction.
 20. Thesolid-state drive device of claim 9, wherein the controller is disposedcloser to the second region than the at least one volatile main memorydevice.